
In the 1950's and 1960's, as the world considered the bomb, and the US prepared for possible nuclear events on US soil, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) began updating one of architecture's fundamental tomes: Architectural Graphic Standards.*
Since its initial publication in 1933, Architectural Graphic Standards has provided architects and AEC designers with building blocks, drawn to scale, of virtually every possible object a human can interact with in the built environment. Everything in the book is generally drawn the same way: an image of the item in question with a small description of how the item functions. Some drawings also include notes with tips only an insider would know, a clue to the amount of research the book contains.


Five editions were published between 1933 and 1956. The fifth edition swelled to an enormous 758 pages (the first edition clocked in at 233 pages.) Charles George Ramsey, AIA, and Harold Reeve Sleeper, FAIA authored the first five editions of the book. Each edition required an increasing amount of time for research and documentation of novel building practices. Sleeper spent his entire career, essentially, updating the book. The fifth edition was the last edition where Sleeper was the driving force of the publication. At the end of his career, he suggested the AIA take up the mantle of the book after he retired.** The AIA agreed to take on the book and transitioned it from the original authors to a newly appointed editorial advisory committee.
So, the scene was set. The AIA's editorial advisory committee looked at the built environment of the 1960's and asked, "What do architects need to know right now?" With that in mind, the committee began working in earnest to update the book in 1963 and produce a sixth edition.***
Obviously, nuclear fallout shelters made the list. In fact, it must have been important to the committee, because the topic is introduced as the seventh item of the 695 page book, sandwiched between Building Areas and Volumes and Residential Planning: Interior Spaces. It was ahead of other topics like Automobiles, Sports and Games, and Food Facilities.
Architectural Graphic Standards dedicated the following two pages to nuclear fallout in their 1970 sixth edition, including a drafted copy of the appropriate fallout shelter sign. These pages were authored by Robert Berne, AIA, the Chief Architect for the U.S. Office of Civil Defense.
I hope to share more pieces pieces from the Architectural Graphic Standards in my future blog posts!
— P. Mosher


* The optional opener, cut for brevity — Right, so apparently lots of people have nuclear fallout on the brain at the moment, like I do. Oppenheimer continues to smash the box office (I haven't seen it yet), but a considerable amount of my YouTube algorithm has pointed me here.
So, here goes —
** Sleeper and Ramsey are both still on the copyright.
*** The sixth edition sits in my library and is the only version of the book I have ever used. I was gifted the book by architect Steve Graudin while I was a student studying in Charleston, South Carolina. Steve's seal marks the inside cover. A twelfth edition exits, but it is nearly $200 and never in stock anywhere. The sixth edition currently retails used for about $8.
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